Peachtree Road Race is Here!!

Tomorrow is the Peachtree Road Race. 60,000 people will make their way down Peachtree Street to Piedmont Park to earn that famous t-shirt.

I am excited to run my 12th. It is the one race I look forward to each year.

If you are running it tomorrow, make sure you stay well hydrated today. Tomorrow is suppose to be one hot, humid one.

2015 GA Publix Half Recap - It finally happened...

So yesterday was the GA Publix Half Marathon, the weather was perfect minus the crazy wind at times which made things seem colder.

Flat Ramona ready to run the hills of Atlanta

I was anxious to get started or maybe I was just ready to start moving to get warm. Either way, I was ready. Even though the course is a challenge, it is still one of my favorites courses out there. A lot of it may have to do with the scenery and the spectators that come out and cheer us all on.

Before the race I met up with some fellow INKnBURN people for a group photo before heading to our corrals. 

The race started on time. Since I was in B, it didn't seem to take long before we were at the start line waiting for our start.

And we're off...

The first half of the race seemed to go by quickly for me. I was feeling great. My legs were happy (which is a plus seeing how I don't run a lot of hills in training).

The second half of the race I knew was going to be a challenge. The hill coming out of Piedmont Park is always a struggle as well as the last hill over by GT.

The last 3 miles of the race turned into a mental game for me. I knew what to expect. I knew to stay on track for a PR; I needed to time my short walk breaks and push through the tough hills.

Soon we were at Georgia Tech. I hate the hills over there. The very last big hill we have is about as bad as the 10th Street hill, if not worse.

I pushed myself up that hill. And now for the home stretch. Longest mile ever. I knew I needed to hold on. I kept telling myself I was only out for a quick run.

Finally, I see the brown building. I knew I was almost there. I kept looking at my watch. I was close oh so very close. I heard the announcer saying you have 20 seconds to sub-2 to the people already sprinting in. 

I turn the corner. I look up and see the clock 2:00:42. I take off. Where that energy from, I have no idea but I just I knew that I had PR'd, but I also knew I had just done something I said I couldn't do on that course. I finally did a sub-2 half marathon!!!

Celebrating as I make my way to finish line!

Official time: 1:57:42

2016 Peachtree Road Race Lottery - OPEN

Today is the day to enter the lottery for the Peachtree Road Race here in Atlanta that takes place on July 4th. It is by far one of my favorite races of all time and holds a special in my heart.

If you are looking to getaway for the 4th of July and want to race as well, why not consider entering the lottery for the Peachtree Road Race? You will not be disappointed, I promise. And if you are local and never ran the race or maybe you have, what are you waiting for....register!!!

I am signed up and excited to run my 12th (yep, 12th straight) Peachtree Road Race. Like I said before it is my favorite and holds a special place in my heart. 

Registration for the Peachtree is open from March 15th to the 22nd. Don't delay, register today!!!

2015 Fast Pace 5K Recap

As of lately, I am not a big fan of 5K races. I feel like by the time I get going the race is over, but since I have been working a lot on my speed, I decided to give this 5K a go.

This particular race is to help raise awareness for Prostate Cancer. Since this hits close to home, I was excited to run it. They even had a screening there for the guys.

The race started right on time. We had a nice down hill start. I knew from other friends who have ran this race before to not take over too fast. I held back even though I wanted to fly. I am glad I did.

A few people said they didn't like the course and found it was harder than last years. Since this was my first time running this particular race, I had nothing to compare it to. I felt the course was great. Loved the rolling hills in the middle and the slight downhill finish at the Cumming Fairgrounds.

Even though I wasn't able to PR, I did come close. I'm finally seeing the speed I had two years ago. I guess all the stuff I have been doing is finally paying off, right? :) I did, however, place 3rd in my age group. A first for the new age group.

My official time was 24:08.

It was great to have so many people I know from the Suwanee Big Peach run group out there running it.

2015 Peach Jam Half Recap

I am starting to wonder if I should stop running half marathons in April because it always seems to rain the days leading up to it. Like last year, we had to worry about rain the day of the race. Luckily, the rain stopped the night before.

The race took place on the Big Creek Greenway out in Cumming, GA. It started and finished at Fowler Park.

The race started at 7:30 sharp. We took off from the parking lot making our way down to the greenway.

It was bit congested until about mile one then it started to thin out.

We had a few puddles and one big one that I remember from last year. I decided I  didn't want to run through it quite yet, so I decided to slow down and tip toe quickly through the mud.

With this race, you don't have that crowd support so it's  a mental game out there. Once we were coming up on the turnaround, I saw a friend from the local running group. She took my picture and cheered me on.

Three miles down. I was thinking to myself, "Why am I doing this again??". I kept pushing through.

Another than the mental game, I was feeling pretty good with the run. I was keeping my pace constant.

Around mile 8, I started chatting with another runner who was running her first half.

We ended up staying together for the rest of the race. She thanked me for pacing her and keeping her motivated to keep going. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

I didn't PR this time around, but it's okay. I got to help pace someone cross the finish line of their first half.

Oh and the most important thing of all and why I ended up signing up for this race......

2014 AJC Peachtree Road Race Recap

I am just now getting to this one. Better late than never, right?

This Peachtree was a special one for me. It was my 10th time running it without missing a year. I had been looking forward to it since last years race.

After a humid first half of the week, I was worried that race day was going to be bad. Luckily, it wasn't. I wouldn't say it was perfect running weather but it's darn close to it especially for a July race.

Since this my 10th race, Mike decided he was going to come to the race and be at the finish line waiting for me.

Flat Ramona is ready to rock the Peachtree Road Race

The race day started pretty early for us. Met Kat and Eric at one of the Marta stations so we could get a mile warm up in before running 6.2 miles down Peachtree Street.

After our quick mile jog down to the corrals, we stopped for a picture before we each went our separate ways until after the race.

Before I knew it, I was slowly making my way to the start line where I would be starting my 10th PRR.

I was so excited to get started. This is one of my favorite races to do even though I am not  racing anyone except for myself.

This particular race goes by fast for me. The crowd support is amazing. One of the best out there.

Running down 10 street almost to the finish line.

After the race, I met up with some of my running friends from the Suwanee Big Peach Running group for a quick photo.

Then I met up with Jen and Brandi for a quick photo and since I had not received my medal yet,  Jen was kind enough to let me get a photo with it on.

Here is the finisher's shirt that every participate receives. I love not knowing what design won until I open up my race bag and see the shirt after the race.

Here's a close up of the commemorative medal that you can order or buy at the expo.

Peachtree Road Race #11 will be here before I know. I am excited to run it again this year. I'll also get to see my Mom finish her 10th.

2015 GA Peach Jam Half

So a couple of weeks ago, I may or not have signed up for my 8th half marathon. This will be my third half marathon in three months which will qualify me for half fanatics. I never cared to be in it, but now that I am so close to it...why not?

The Peach Jam takes place on the Big Creek Greenway in Cumming, GA. I ran it last year and even with the crappy weather I still managed to PR. I am hoping that I can beat that time and also possibly sub-2 on that course this year. Fingers crossed for excellent weather and speedy legs/feet. I am going to need it for this flat half. :)

2015 AJC Peachtree Road Race Lottery Open

The AJC Peachtree Road Race lottery is officially open. If you are interested in running in the largest 10K in the world (yes I said that right) then go here.

Now that registration is officially underway they revealed the five t-shirts that we get to vote on. Here they are:

Thanks, AJC Peachtree Road Race facebook page for the picture.

I am not a fan of two of them (the Seal and Diagonal Lines). The more I keep looking at the designs, the more I like Americana and Freedom Runner. Vintage is fine too just not one of my favorites. Which one or ones do you like?

To go and vote click here. 

I can't wait until July 4th to see which one is chosen! 

2014 Atlanta 10 Miler Recap

After the Michelob 13.1, I decided I would sign up for the Atlanta 10 Miler. I wanted to run it last year, but had already made plans to spectate the Atlanta Halloween Half.

October 26th came before I knew it. I thought I was prepared for it especially after running 8 miles the weekend before, but on my last run before the race I noticed some pain in my IT Band.

Because of my injury, I went into the race with a game plan. If I felt any discomfort or pain, I would stop and walk some.

The race started at 7:40 (10 minutes after it was suppose to because of a car accident on the major highway near by).

Miles 1-6 were rolling hills. Some worse than others.

At mile 7, we turned onto Peachtree St to enter into the Mizuno Cardiac Hill Challenge. If you aren't familiar with Cardiac Hill, its a gradual hill that takes place south of Piedmont Hospital and the Shepherd Center. Unfortunately for us this challenge took place a little further down the road from Cardiac Hill. I guess they wanted it to last a full mile. Not sure but the first hill was definitely not Cardiac Hill. We finally finished the challenge at mile 8. Only 2 miles to go!

The last two miles went by fast and before I knew it I was crossing the finish line. I didn't run as fast as I would have liked, but I can't complain too much about the time.

Official time : 1:37:15

2014 Hotlanta Half Race Recap

This race really lived up to its name. It goes with the Big Peach RunAtl shirt which says "Heat, Hills, Humidity".

Since the race starts and finishes at Underground Atlanta, Mike and I decided instead of taking Marta that we would just drive down and park in one of the local parking garages.

Shortly after we arrived Brandi and her Mom, Karen, showed up. We hung out with them for a bit before I went over to meet my running group from Suwanee Big Peach.

Twenty minutes until race time we got a big group photo near the start line.

Race started right at 7:30

I decided I was going to run with a bunch of my Suwanee Big Peach friends. I normally like running alone but with this race I decided to do things a bit different. :)

Since Paula was doing intervals, I decided I would stick with her. I wasn't about time for this race. I just wanted to go out there and have fun.

First half of the race was went pretty well, but the second half of the race was an up hill battle. I will say I probably cursed every hill after Piedmont Park.

Paula and I decided that if the hills were too much that we would walk them.

Before we knew it we were at mile 12, but unfortunately for us we had an up hill finish...

The course was a little short. Our GPS watches were on spot until the Beltline. Not sure what happened after that.

We finished with a time of 2:19 which is a lot faster than Paula had planned.

After the race, we got a photo of some of the Suwanee Big Peach finishers with our medals on...

Amanda and I after the race.

One thing I loved about this race is the spinner medal and shirt. :)

Will I do this race again? Not sure. It was HOT out there. Running a half in August is a bit crazy if you ask me.

Hotlanta Half

Well, I did it again. While at the Peachtree Road Race Expo, I signed up for half marathon #4. I will be running the Hotlanta Half on August 24th.

Fingers crossed that I am prepared for this race that is less than 7 weeks away. :)

Also, look for a race recap of the Peachtree Road Race soon (hopefully next week).

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

National Running Day!

Happy National Running Day! (I think its a happy one? lol)

Anyways, so sorry I haven't really posted much. Not a lot has been going on with me. I am in training mode or so I would like to think. I am slowly but surely getting use to the heat. I have been making myself get out there mid-mornings to run so I am somewhat use to it. Don't worry though...I have my water bottle with me anytime I am going over 2 miles.

We are officially one month away from the AJC Peachtree Road Race. I can't believe we are a month away. OMG! It seems like yesterday I was freaking out over my registration mess up. I am so excited about running it this year. Heck, I am excited about running it every year, but this year will be super special to me. :) I have already decided that I will run it again next year. It will be my Mom's 10th PRR so I have to be there for her.

I am hoping within the next week or so I will have two race recaps up. I can't believe I haven't done a recap on my half marathon from April. I swear these months keep flying by. I promise though I will eventually have it up as well as a recap from this past weekends 5K.


How are you adjusting to the warmer weather? Liking it, loving it, or missing winter?

June: Last Month of PRR Training 2014

Holy cow! It's the last month of training for the Peachtree Road Race. Hard to believe I am so close to running my favorite 10K!! :)

Here is the June schedule:

4 miles - June 3rd

6 miles - June 5th

2 miles - June 7th or 8th

5 miles - June 10th

3 miles - June 12th

3 miles - June 14th or 15th

2 miles -  June 17th

5 miles - June 19th

10K Race - Possum Trot - June 21st

3 miles - June 24th

4 miles - June 26th

5 miles - June 28th or 29th

3 miles - July 1st

2 miles - July 2nd (Last Day of Training for the Peachtree Race!!)

May: Second Month of PRR Training 2014

Thankfully no half marathons during this month to mess up my schedule.  :) Fingers crossed that I stay injury free this month as well.

Hard to believe it's May. This year is FLYING by. Slow down please!!

Here's the schedule so far for May:

2 miles - May 2nd

2 miles - May 4th

5 miles - May 6th

6 miles - May 8th

3 miles - May 10th or 11th

2 miles - May 13th

3 miles - May 15th

3 miles - May 17th or 18th

6 miles - May 20th

7 miles - May 22nd

6 miles - May 24th or 25th

4 miles - May 27th

3 miles - May 29th

3 miles - May 31st

2014 Publix GA Half Marathon Recap

I've been a little slow at writing recaps and I apologize. I still need to publish my recap from the 10K I did in February. Hopefully, I will get that up sometime in the near future.

Here is my recap from the half marathon I did on March 23rd, 2014.

A few days after finishing my first half I decided I would take the challenge and sign up for the Publix Half. I knew going into this that I was going to be facing a challenge....HILLS. I am not really a fan of hills. Heck, I don't think anyone really is, but I decided I was going to do my best and most of all...have fun.

After staying close to the race site for the Allstate 13.1, Jen, Brandi, and I decided we were going to stay as close as we could for this half marathon. Jen made reservations as the Doubletree Hilton. It was literally a block or two away from Centennial Park,which is where the start of the race took place.

Fast forward a few months and here we are at race weekend.

Saturday March 22nd, I met up with Jen to head on down to the expo to pick up our race numbers/shirts and to do a little shopping before heading to the hotel to check in. We also had made plans to go to Max's Pizza for a little carb loading with some friends of ours (Angela and her husband, Matthew, Jill and her husband, Matt and their daughter, Abigail, Brandi, Jason, and Katie). Had the best pizza and garlic knots. Seriously, think I will be going here again next year.

Lovely view from Centennial Park

After dinner we went back to Angela and Matthew's hotel to hang out at the SkyLounge before heading back to ours to call it a night.

View of the Atlanta skyline from SkyLounge

Before I knew it was time to leave, but we would be seeing each other the next day after the race for some brunch.

Since we didn't have far to go, I set my alarm for 5:20. Like always I couldn't sleep the night before the race. I am so anxious to get out there and go.

Alarm went off at 5:20.

It was time to get up and get ready.

All week we had been hearing about the threat of rain so of course we check the weather when we woke up to see what was going. Luckily, it wasn't raining and was going to hold off until after we were done.

At 6:20, we left the hotel. It was nice not having to take Marta down before the race.

Got to the park. I took my energybits, and ate some of my protein bar before going to gear check. After gear check, I said my goodbyes to Brandi and Jen before heading to my corral (G) to get ready for the start of the Publix Half.

A good thing about staying close to the race we were able to walk down 40 minutes before the start of the race. By the time I found and got in my corral we only had 10 minutes before the race started.

As I was making my way to the start line I kept telling myself to take it easy on the hills and I will do just fine.

....I did just that.

I really don't remember too much about the race. I remember getting to mile 6-7 and then 9. Most of the race I was in the zone and just don't remember passing a lot of the sites. I guess that's a good thing?

Soon I was passing over the "fake finish line" and making my way back to the park.

I was feeling amazing. I definitely felt better than I did after my first half. My legs were happy.

I crossed the finish line with an official time of 2:09:06. Not my fastest, but I wasn't trying to do that. I wanted to have fun and I did.

Earned my bling!!!

April: First Month of PRR Training 2014

This month is kind of crazy since I have a half marathon on the 19th. I am probably going to take a week off after the half but since I am still not sure I will list what I am suppose to do just in case I want to get out there for some slow recovery runs.

Here is my training runs for April:

2 miles - April 9th

3 miles -April 11th

5 miles - April 13th or 14th

2 miles - April 15th

2 miles - April 17th

Half Marathon - April 19th

4 miles - April 23rd

5 miles - April 25th

3 miles - April 27th or 28th

4 miles - April 30th

Half Marathon Training: Week 12

Can't believe race week is here!


Sunday- Didn't really do anything except for my 30 day ab challenge work out. Lazy rainy day.


Monday - A little core work from the 30 day ab challenge


Tuesday - 3 mile run with the group run. It was a muddy run so I took it easy so I didn't hurt myself.


Wednesday - Rest day.


Thursday - Last training run before Sunday. :) Easy 2 mile run.


Friday - Rest


Saturday - Rest/Expo day. 2nd Half Marathon on Sunday!!! :)

Half Marathon Training: Week 11

Last real week of training. So ready to kick this weeks butt! :)

Sunday- Another beautiful day out so I went for a 2 mile run to make up for not running it on Thursday. :)


Monday - Thirty minute hardcore core work out. My abs were on fire during this.


Tuesday - Group run day. Easy 2 mile run in the AM and 3 mile run at the group run.


Wednesday - Total body work out.


Thursday - No run. Just did a little ab work out.


Friday - Work a Saturday shift so I did my 10 mile run. It was a tough one but I got it done.


Saturday - Rest Day

Half Marathon Training: Week 10

Sunday- Quick 5K run in the neighborhood. It felt amazing out.


Monday - Started week 2 of Recreating You. Today was a lot easier than last week. Thank goodness.


Tuesday - Quick 2 mile run before doing my other work out. My 2 mile run was awesome. I find its easier if I get a run in before I do some sort of cross training work out.

Recreating You work out was a lot easier for me today than last week. I still hated doing the 300 jumping jacks though.

Went to run group in the evening for a 3 mile run.

Wednesday - Started off with the 10 minute solution ultimate boot camp -six pack attack. Great 10 minute core work out. Afterwards I did the Recreating You work out. Great double day work out.

In the evening, I decided I would go for a 3 mile run since the weather for Thursday didn't look too pretty. Cold and rain equal not a good combo.

Thursday - I wanted to go for a 2 mile run, but it was crazy windy out so I decided I would just do my work out and call it a day.

Friday - Woke up not feeling well. So I decided I would do a little core work.


Saturday - Amazing 9 mile run at the park. So glad I got out there. :)